Safeguards/Nuclear Material Control

Quick Launch

Description: This course defines material control and accountability (MC&A) and describes systems designed to establish and track inventory, control access, and detect loss or diversion of nuclear material. Discussion includes administrative controls, activities, devices and equipment, and procedures found in comprehensive systems.

Description: As part of ORNL’s university outreach, the Safeguards Laboratory offers its laboratory space, equipment, technical expertise, and services to the Nuclear Engineering Department at Texas A&M University (TAMU), as well as other universities, to assess the teaching effectiveness of the hands-on portion of a radiation detection/measurements course. This provides the opportunity to evaluate existing nuclear measurements laboratories and their associated equipment in terms of cost and effectiveness as teaching tools.

Description: Basic NDA course for students who will be performing as NDA technicians or beginning to mid-level professionals. This course provides overviews of fundamentals of radiation physics (correction techniques, error propagation, measurement bias calculation). It also includes measurement and quantification of radionuclides by gamma-ray spectrometry and neutron coincidence counting.

Description: “Holdup” is the residual amount of Special Nuclear Material (SNM) remaining in a processing facility after the bulk materials have been cleaned out. Good accounting and control of materials in process streams is vital to prevent theft/diversion, loss to the environment, and unidentified/unmeasured waste and to minimize inventory differences in the process. This course applies and builds upon techniques covered in Basic NDA to perform accountability assays, taking into account material composition and distribution, intervening absorbers between source and detector, and interferences from background radiation.

Description: Designed to train inspectors on safeguards-relevant features of enrichment plant design and operations. Describes normal material flows and operations and presents credible diversion and undeclared production scenarios. Describes international safeguards objectives and inspection tools.

Implementing IAEA Safeguards in the United States—Seminar/workshop (4–8 hours)

Description: Explains the process of making U.S. facilities compliant with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards requirements. Provides a history of application of safeguards at U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) facilities and provides lessons learned.

Target audience: Facility operators, regulators, and those involved with international safeguards.

Description: The course trains the participant on the basics of operation of PVT (polyvinyl toluene) radiation portal monitors, as well as, comparing this capability with several other radiation detectors namely, sodium iodide and high purity germanium detectors. The participants are also taught the statistics behind the algorithm for making the alarm decisions and the importance of solid angle calculations. The training also includes specific operational issues noted from previous installations. Finally a review of the data analysis conducted at the ORNL of the data that is received from the portal monitors. Participants are trained on the important parameters and the relationship to sustainability efforts.

Target audience: Technical and non-technical personnel responsible for the installation of radiation portal monitors at border crossing, seaports, and airports with the intent to deter, detect and interdict the illicit trafficking of special nuclear and other radiological materials through the normal flow of commerce.